Museum - Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon

Get rid of the Monday blues with Azurite! Azurite is a copper carbonate mineral that is best known for its characteristic beautiful blue color! The first image shows a piece of Azurite that was collected in Bisbee, Arizona! Commonly, you will see Azurite and the green mineral Malachite, also a copper carbonate mineral, together since they form under similar conditions (image 2). Visit the Rice NW Museum and see the numerous examples of Azurite both with and without its miner...al buddy Malachite! #MineralMonday #ricenwmuseum

Our online shop has been restocked, including this specimen of Spruce Ridge Quartz and Pyrite with Ankerite. Every purchase directly supports our ongoing educational programs. https://bit.ly/31sD8z3

Say Hi to the museum’s curator, Angela! She is from Camas, Washington, and went to school at Portland State University. She has previously worked in Finance, Environmental Geology, and at one point even worked for NASA! As the curator, Angela cares for the museum’s collections, develops and installs exhibits, works with volunteers, and dreams up special events and learning opportunities for visitors of all ages. Angela loves meeting visitors and working the with museum’s coll...ection. Visitors aren’t the only ones fascinated by the Alma Rose. One of Angela’s favorite museum memories is seeing the Alma Rose rhodochrosite up close, without the case cover on. Her favorite item in the museum’s collection is the red cloud Wulfenite (image 2). Next time you see Angela at the museum make sure you say hi and let her know your favorite mineral! #RiceNWMuseum

Are you feeling anxious and stressed? Make reservations to slow down and feel inspired in our galleries this weekend. https://bit.ly/2HT5rkw

Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals November Newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/2358a8571b4e/march-newsletter-7050805

Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals on the earth's surface! If you were to go on a walk outside there is a very high chance you would find a rock with quartz in it. Quartz occurs in all different habits (appearances) and colors. In its purest form, quartz is colorless (Image 1), but it can also be purple, smokey, green, pink, or orange, just to name a few! These color differences arise from the presence of impurities when the quartz crystal is forming. For example, p...urple quartz also known as Amethyst (Image 2) gets its color from the presence of iron during crystal formation. Orange quartz, Citrine (image 3), also gets its coloring from iron, but a different concentration. Aside from being beautiful, Quartz is also useful. Flint and chert are varieties of microcrystalline quartz. Microcrystalline quartz consists of tightly interlocked microcrystals and lacks a visible crystalline structure. Their conchoidal fracture enables them to be flaked into sharp-edged tools and weapons such as arrowheads, spearheads, knives, and scrapers. This is why flaked microcrystalline quartz comprises the bulk of all Native American artifacts. It is strong, durable, and abundant. #MineralMonday #RiceNWMuseum

We have a few tickets still available for this weekend. Make your reservations and spend the afternoon with us.

If this looks like poop to you that’s because it used to be it! Fossilized feces are known as coprolites and are important trace fossils. Trace fossils provide us with evidence about an animal’s behavior like diet. This reddish-brown coprolite is from a turtle and was found in Lewis County, Washington. Scientists know it is from a turtle because they compared it and its contents to modern-day turtle feces. Fun (and important) Fact: Fossilized feces don’t smell!... #RiceNWMuseum #HappyHalloween

What is a vampire’s favorite fossil? A trilo-BITE! Here at the museum, we have an impressive collection of fossils like this brown trilobite on siltstone. This creepy crawler dates back to the Middle Cambrian and was found in Millard County, Utah. This piece is currently on display in the Fossil Gallery. In Image 2, you can see a few terms related to the different parts of a trilobite body.... #RiceNWMuseum

Does anyone else find this item petrifying?! Don’t worry this isn’t a spider web, but a piece from our collection! Sometimes minerals can replace organic material such as tree bark and plants through a process called petrification. Here we have a thick slice of petrified wood composed of dark brown, black, and tan opalized wood. Look at all those rings! This piece dates to the Oligocene and was found in Jefferson County, Oregon. Currently, this item is in storage, but the...re are many examples of petrified wood on display at the Rice NW Museum. #MineralMonday #HappyHalloween #RiceNWMuseum

Snap. Share. Tag. We have set up a little fall photo op for our visitors. #ricenwmuseum

We are open this weekend. Make your reservations to be inspired by our collection.